六级阅读-space tourism

六级阅读

Space Tourism

Make your reservations now. The space tourism industry is officially open

for business, and tickets are going for a mere $$20 million for a one-week

stay

in

space.

Despite

reluctance

from

National

Air

and

Space

Administration

(NASA),

Russia

made

American

businessman

Dennis

Tito

the

world

’

s

first

space

tourist.

Tito

flew

into

space

aboard

a

Russian

Soyuz

rocket

that

arrived

at

the International Space Station (ISS) on April 30,2001. The second space

tourist, South African businessman Mark Shuttle worth, took off aboard the

Russian Soyuz on April 25, 2002, also bound for the ISS.

Lance Bass of

’

N Sync was supposed to be the third to make the $$20 million

trip, but he did not join the three-man crew as they blasted off on October

30,2002,

due

to

lack

of

payment.

Probably

the

most

incredible

aspect

of

this

proposed space tour was that NASA approved of it.

These trips are the beginning of what could be a profitable 21st century

industry.

There

are

already

several

space

tourism

companies

planning

to

build

suborbital vehicles and orbital cities within the next two decades. These

companies

have

invested

millions,

believing

that

the

space

tourism

industry

is on the verge of taking off.

In 1997, NASA published a report concluding that selling trips into space

to private citizens could be worth billions of dollars. A Japanese report

supports these findings, and projects that space tourism could be a $$10

billion per year industry within the next two decades. The only obstacles

to opening up space to tourists are the space agencies, who are concerned

with safety and the development of a reliable, reusable launch vehicle.

Space Accommodations

Russia

’

s

Mir

space

station

was

supposed

to

be

the

first

destination

for

space

tourists. But in March 2001, the Russian Agency brought Mir down into the

Pacific

Ocean.

As

it

turned

out,

bringing

down

Mir

only

temporarily

delayed

the first tourist trip into space.

The Mir crash did cancel plans for a new reality-based game show from NBC,

which

was

going

to

be

called

Destination

Mir.

The

survivor-like

TV

show

was

scheduled to air in fall 2001. Participants on the show were to go through

training

at

Russia

’

s

cosmonaut(

宇航员

)

training

center,

Star

City.

Each

week,

one of the participants would be eliminated from the show, with the winner

receiving

a

trip

to

the

Mir

space

station.

The

Mir

crash

has

ruled

out

NBC

’

s

space plants for now. NASA is against beginning space tourism until the

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International Space Station is completed in 2006.

Russia in not alone in its interest in space tourism. There are several

projects

underway

to

commercialize

space

travel.

Here

are

a

few

of

the

groups

that might take tourists to space:

Space Island Group is going to build a ring-shaped, rotating

space infrastructure(

基础结构

).

city out of empty NASA space-shuttle fuel tanks (to start, it should take

around 12 or so), and place it about 400 miles above Earth. The space city

will

rotate

once

per

minute

to

create

a

gravitational

pull

one-third

as

strong

as Earth

’

s.

According to their vision statement, Space Adventures plants to

of

thousands

of

people

in

space

over

the

next

10-15

years

and

beyond,

around

the moon, and back, from spaceports both on Earth and in space, to and form

private space stations, and aboard dozens of different vehicles...

Even

Hilton

Hotels

has

shown

interest

in

the

space

tourism

industry

and

the

possibility of building or co-funding a space hotel. However, the company

did say that it believes such a space hotel is 15 to 20 years away.

Initially, Space tourism will offer simple accommodations at best. For

instance,

if

the

International

Space

Station

is

used

as

a

tourist

attraction,

guests won

’

t find the Luxurious surroundings of a hotel room on Earth. It

has been designed for conducting research, not entertainment. However, the

first generation of space hotels should offer tourists a much more

comfortable experience.

In regard to a concept

for a space

hotel initially

planned by Space Island,

such

a

hotel

could

offer

guests

every

convenience

they

might

find

at

a

hotel

on Earth, and some they might not. The small gravitational pull created by

the rotating space city would allow space-tourists and residents to walk

around and function normally within the structure. Everything from running

water to a recycling plant to medical facilities would be possible.

Additionally, space tourists would even be able to take spacewalks.

Many

of

these

companies

believe

that

they

have

to

offer

an

extremely

enjoyable

experience in order for passengers to pay thousands, if not millions, of

dollars

to

ride

into

space.

So

will

space

create

another

separation

between

the haves and have- nots?

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